New DC: Austin Headed to Austin

Texas may have lost Will Muschamp to Florida, but Tuesday Florida lost Teryl Austin to Texas.

In an ironic exchange, according to team sources Mack Brown tapped Austin, who served as the Gators' DC this season, as the Longhorns' new defensive coordinator.

The Gators struggled to a 7-5 regular season record, but defense was certainly not the problem. Despite the losses, Florida still finished with the No. 9 overall yardage defense in the country (302.92 ypg). The Gators were No. 26 nationally against the run (129.92 ypg) and No. 13 against the pass (173 ypg). Compare that to a No. 79 ranking in total offense (356.83 ypg) and it's easy to see that Austin's bunch held back the tide for an ineffectual and turnover-prone (25 total turnovers) Gator offense.

Austin is known much more for his NFL credentials than anything else. Before being named Florida's defensive coordinator back in February of this year, Austin was a defensive backs coach in the NFL from 2003 to 2009, first with the Seattle Seahawks and then with the Arizona Cardinals. He was the DBs coach on the Arizona team that made its surprising run to Super Bowl XLIII.

Before the NFL, his collegiate coaching career included stops as a defensive assistant with Michigan, Syracuse and Wake Forest.

His hiring is a bit of a coincidence, considering that he may not have the fondest memories of Texas. He had a successful playing career as a three-year start as a defensive back for the Pitt Panthers. But in his final collegiate game, he was a part of the defensive backfield for Pittsburgh that gave up a Longhorn-record 242 yards to wide receiver Tony Jones in a 32-27 Texas win in the final edition of the Bluebonnet Bowl. It was a single game record that stood until last season, when Jordan Shipley put up 273 receiving yards in a 35-3 win over Central Florida.